1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a device for producing power and potable water, and more specifically to a device for harnessing ocean wave energy for producing power and potable water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As societies become more complex and populations grow, the demand for energy is ever-increasing. In modern societies, energy production relies in large part on non-renewable resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. In addition to existing in finite supply, use of these products leads to formation of pollutants that raise environmental concerns. Burning coal and oil products, for example, leads to airborne pollutants including carbon dioxide. Natural gas, which is often thought to be largely pollutant-free, requires processing prior to use, and this processing produces airborne pollutants as byproducts. Further, the transport of oil and other petroleum products carries within it an inherent risk of pollution due to, for example, a leak in a transport vessel.
Alternate forms of energy production are proposed from time to time, each having various benefits and detriments. Biofuel or biomass energy sources, for example, are often proposed as solutions to the world's energy problems, in part because they represent largely renewable resources. Such fuels suffer from problems, however, in that they produce pollutants in many cases similar to that produced by the use of fossil fuels, and production of sufficient biomass to meet the world's energy demands seems unlikely and can, in some instances, compete directly with resources needed for the world's food supply.
Hydroelectric energy is common in the form of hydroelectric dams, where water from, for example, a river is used to turn turbines or water wheels that are coupled to electrical generators. Such methods, however, may have a considerable environmental impact on the area surrounding the dam, and particularly with respect to the area downstream from the dam.
Nuclear energy holds promise in that the amount of energy produced from a small amount of material is great, and in that there is little or not air pollution produced by a nuclear power plant. Nuclear energy also has certain drawbacks, however, in that dangerous waste is produced and must be disposed of. In addition, uranium mining results in the release of greenhouse gases that lead to environmental concerns.
Wind power is another method that produces no air pollution and is therefore an attractive source of energy production. Such a method, however, is less than desirable in areas where there is no constant source of wind. Furthermore, wind power units are seen as eyesores by many living in areas in which they have been implemented, and the devices have been known to affect bird migratory patterns and to present physical dangers to bird flying near them.
Wave power, on the other hand, is widely available to areas having abundant coastlines, and use of wave power can have a minimal environmental effect. Further, wave power is largely renewable and, as opposed to wind or solar power, is predictable.
Wave engine devices have been described in patent documents related to the present document and referenced above. Such devices are successful in producing electrical power, but in some cases it may be desirable to combine the output of two or more such wave engine devices (also referred to herein as ocean wave energy converters, or OWECs). Such a combination may be accomplished by simply providing two or more OWECs free-floating in close proximity to one another, with the appropriate electrical cabling between them to combine the output of both. This is not desirable, however, in that free-floating OWECs may be drawn apart by the action of the body of water in which they are positioned, placing strain on the connecting cables joining them. Even when moored to the ocean floor, there will be a tendency for the devices to drift apart, and as multiple OWEC devices are placed in proximity to one another the problem is exacerbated, and the devices may tend to come into contact with one another, thereby doing damage to the devices.
What is needed, therefore, is a structural device for allowing the placement of multiple OWEC in close proximity to one another, attenuating the drift of the devices and the likelihood of collisions between one or more device. What is further needed is such a structural device adapted for housing power or water production facilities and further adapted to provide for easy maintenance of the OWECs used therewith.